The Moment
by Pureauthor
Summary: "Hey... do you remember what it was like? The moment you first realized?" /CelicaxFaye/


The Moment

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A fluff piece that's been banging around in my head for a while. And I thought it'd be good to push this out before I went back to updating Everything Under Heaven.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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 _The fire in the hearth is dying down now. She blinks once, a slow and deliberate motion as she stares at the wooden logs, and the cheerful, crackling flames._

" _Hey."_

 _The voice is s_ _oft_ _, languid and lazy._ _Faye_ _shifts_ _in her seat, feeling the comfortable warmth of_ _Celica's_ _body, pressed close to her_ _own_ _._

" _Mm? What is it?"_

" _Do you re_ _member what it was like? The moment you first realized?" The question ends on an open note, not going into specifics._

 _Somehow though, Faye can tell exactly what it is Celica is talking about. And for a moment, just a moment, she is lost in memory._

" _What brought this on?"_ _She says, once that moment has passed._

" _Oh, I was just... thinking."_ _Another slight shift of their bodies, and she can feel Celica's head,_ _now_ _resting on her shoulder. "When I first set out on_ _my_ _journey,_ _when I first met you again..._ _I didn't think we'd ever end up like this. We've a good thing going, don't we?"_

 _Her gaze lowers to their hands, clasped to each other, their fingers intertwined. Her smile widens._

" _Yes, we do."_

" _So... I was just wondering. When did you realize it could_ _ **be**_ _like this? What was the moment you realized... we could be more?"_

 _She heaves a sigh, and sinks down even deeper into the softness of the_ _cushions_ _._

" _It wasn't_ _ **a**_ _moment," she says, and her gaze is distant as she stares at the crackling flames. "_ _Not for me. After all I was barely even aware something like this was possible at all."_

(X)

Celica had arrived in Ram, a burst of vibrant colour splashing through the grey dullness of living in a Ram without Alm and the rest of her friends. She had smiled at her, chatted with her, and asked Faye how she had been doing all these years.

And Fayehad found herself staring at Celica, wondering if this was really the same quiet girl that that had left Ram all those years ago.

Her red hair shone brilliant in the midday sun, each strand seeming to catch the light to glow with their own inner fire as they framed her face. Her eyes twinkled with delight as she looked at Faye and around her, at the village she had been away from for so long. Her every movement was measured, poised and graceful, and suddenly Faye felt self-conscious of how rough and clumsy she seemed next to her.

"I've been so desperately lonely here," she told Celica. "It's so good to see you again!"

Celica's smile had widened in response, her eyes crinkling up in pleasure, and all of a sudden Faye found herself swallowing hard, past the tightness in her chest and the sudden squirming in her belly.

 _It's because_ _I'm_ _happy_ , she had decided.

Celica come back into her life after so long, and her presence was a promise in and of itself, a promise that she wouldn't have to be alone any longer.

Still she found herself wondering why that sensation, that strange discomfort still lingered, refusing to go away even as she marched behind Celica and Ram disappeared through the leaves and branches of Fleecer's Forest.

 _It's because I look up to her,_ she thought.

And, well, who _wouldn't_ admire Celica?

Celica was so knowledgeable. Faye didn't know the first thing about travelling or the world beyond the comfort of Ram, but Celica did. She knew where to go, how to read the stars to find their way. She spoke of locations, of places that Faye had only vaguely heard of at best, and from scattered conversations she knew that Celica also knew how to handle a ship. A ship! On the open ocean!

Celica was so skilled, with both sword and sorcery. When they were attacked and forced to defend themselves, Celica fought in a dance of fluid motion, her blade flashing through the air to cut down one foe before fire blossomed in her hand to strike down another. Trained only in the basics of swordplay, Faye couldn't help but feel clumsy and inadequate next to her.

Celica was so kind, taking the time every day to patiently tutor her in the ways of magic. The first time Faye had finally managed to produce a weak and sputtering flame in the palm of her hand, Celica had clapped her hands with delight, acting as if Faye had managed to craft a new spell all by herself. She had lowered her head at that, feeling a warmth in her cheeks.

And of course, more and more she had found herself looking forward to their daily practice sessions, to being able to spend more time with Celica.

 _It's because I want to protect her,_ she told herself.

Celica had let her follow her on her journey, introduced Faye to all her friends, tried to make Faye as comfortable as she could. The first time Faye killed someone, she had frozen up, shivering and palm outstretched as she stared at the smoking corpse on the ground, not quite able to make the connection that it had been _her_ fireball that had cut that person's life short.

Celica had come up to her and drawn her into a hug without saying a word. Faye had simply leaned into her, not moving until the shivering had passed and she was able to calm herself down, to steady her breathing and try to gather herself.

She didn't want to be a burden. She didn't want to be a drag on Celica. So she had to learn. She had to get better.

For Celica's sake.

She had to prove herself.

And yet, that didn't explain why she found her breath catching in her throat at the sight of Celica bathing, the pale skin of her shoulders lit by the moon's glow.

Or why Celica's fingers brushing against her own at the dinner table had set her heart racing.

Or why simply seeing Celica's smile could brighten her entire day.

 _It's because I... I..._

It wasn't like she any stranger to these kinds of feelings. She had always wanted to be by Alm's side too, always hung on his every word.

But feeling these for someone _else_ , that was new. And Faye couldn't help but feel guilty, as if she were betraying something, somehow.

 _Betraying who, exactly? It's not like Alm actually ever returned my feelings._ She caught herself staring at Celica as they continue their march through Eastern Zofia. _And... it's not like Celica would return them either._

Celica's smiles were because she was happy to have Faye as a friend.

Celica's gentle encouragement and soft words were to help guide her, from a teacher to a student.

Celica always sitting or standing close by her, her constant, comforting presence was... a coincidence. That was it.

Yes, just a coincidence.

Licking her lips, Faye continued to march onward.

(X)

Mila's Temple was _supposed_ to be their final destination. Instead it had become yet another battleground, against Rigel and the Duma Faithful.

As Faye fought to keep Celica safe, she had seen a Gargoyle diving down at her. Celica was fending off a member of the Duma Faithful, and had not noticed.

 _NO!_

Before she realized it, she had thrown herself forward, putting herself in between Celica and the Terror's scythe.

A jolt, and a fiery line cutting down her belly and into her leg. Even as she crumpled to the ground, Faye raised her hand, using what was left of her strength to summon a rain of spectral arrows. The Gargoyle that had attacked her was torn apart, stone fragments littering the floor around them.

And as Faye lay there, bleeding out onto the cold stone of the temple, her vision growing darker, she could see Celica scrambling to her side, already raising her hands and casting the spell of recovery.

"Faye, no!" Celica's voice was fuzzy as if coming from far away. "Hang on! Please hang on!"

Faye could remember having been healed before – a warm, soothing sensation that seemed to sink into her bones, washing away pain and fatigue. But this time, nothing seemed to happen, save her vision getting blurrier.

She blinked once, and found it a struggle to open her eyes again.

"Genny! Mae! Boey! Someone! Help!"

More presences that she had been vaguely aware of, crowding around her. But then her exhaustion settled on her like a leaden weight, and she sank into a stupor of half-consciousness, only aware of being propped up – of someone's hands on her shoulders.

And later, when she slowly surfaced back to the waking world, she found that Celica was cradling her, holding her close. She felt the splash of water on her cheek, and suddenly realized that Celica was crying.

"Don't leave me, don't leave me." Her voice, so soft that Faye had to strain to hear.

"I'm not going anywhere." She spoke only with an effort.

Celica had let out the tiniest of gasps, and then she had pulled Faye close, and for a moment Faye thought Celica was going to kiss her.

Instead she buried her head in Faye's shoulder, holding her close, hands pressing into her back, the two of them clinging to each other like a drowning person to a rock.

And it was then that Faye found her answer.

 _It's because I want to be with her. That's all._

(X)

" _... Not exactly the most romantic situation, was it?" Her free arm is lying across her belly, and if she were to prod herself through the thin fabric of her dress, she would still be able to feel the scar of knotted flesh. She resists the urge and instead shifts her gaze to where Celica is still half-lying on her._

 _Another sigh. "Perhaps not. But if it was that moment that helped us to be more honest with each other, then some good did come out of it."_

 _A tiny snort. "Okay, since it was then that I realized you'd been attracted to me for some time already, when was it for you?"_

" _For me?"_

" _You know. When you realized you loved me." The words come out easily now. But the thrill that shoots through her body is never any less for it. The simple act of affirming their affection for each other._

 _Another moment of silence. And Celica sighs._

" _Well, most people probably wouldn't have thought it a particular romantic moment either."_

(X)

It had been at the Desert Fortress, the day after having defeated Grieth and driven off his men.

"Has anyone seen Faye?" Celica called out as she entered the mess hall. She had been looking through the treasure room of the fortress, and she had found a few magic relics that Faye would probably be able to make good use of.

"She's outside in the courtyard. Practicing her first flight, I think." Saber had jerked a thumb in the direction of the window without looking up from whatever drink was in his mug.

Oh yes, Celica remembered. They had found a captured pegasus that had bonded with Faye, and she was now getting flying lessons from the Whitewing sisters.

Just as she stepped out into the blinding glare of the courtyard, she heard the flurry of beating wings and she saw Faye coming in for a landing, just a stone's throw away from where she was.

And as she looked up at Faye patting her pegasus on the neck, Celica saw when-

Faye smiled.

And Celica felt a shiver travel up her spine.

Of course, Faye had smiled before during their journey. But Celica had always seen – there had always been some sort of melancholy weighing her down, enough so that the smile never quite reached her eyes.

But now, hair plastered and sticking to her forehead, her face grimy and dirty after so many days out in the desert, Faye had smiled, _really_ smiled, at her accomplishment.

If asked, Celica would never have denied that she'd found Faye attractive. Beautiful, even. After all she was no stranger to finding other women pretty, and Mila had long taught her children to celebrate love of all kinds.

But it was only at that point that it had happened. When she had smiled, a smile so carefree, so radiant, so filled with a joy for life, that Celica fell in love with Faye, right then and there.

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 **Story End**

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 **Author Notes:** Looking back the single most difficult thing about writing this story was keeping my tenses straight. That said I also really enjoyed writing Faye as she comes to terms with the idea that she is crushing massively on Celica.

That said, writing this story just reinforces my belief that the writers, who can write short stories well, where every word _means_ something, have a real gift. I struggle with it all the time and I wordcount always ends up ballooning.


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